PREVENTION AND ACCESS INTERVENTION FOR BOSNIAN FAMILIES

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

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Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract): The overall purpose of the proposed research is to test a Prevention and Access Intervention for Families (PAIF) with Bosnians in Chicago who are torture survivors and who are not utilizing formal mental health services. The intervention aims to: 1) help families to be better able to draw upon the families' strengths and resources to cope together under the stresses of survival and displacement; and 2) improve the families' ability to obtain appropriate care for possible mental health consequences of torture from sources outside the family. The PAIF is supported by mental health services and family theory and research which claims the family has a powerful influence on help-seeking behavior, pathways to care, and outcomes in persons suffering from mental health problems. More specifically, this study will investigate a Coffee and... Group (CAG) which is a time-limited multi-family education and support group for Bosnian families. It will randomly assign a group of 225 survivors with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and their families to receive either the intervention or the control condition. Longitudinal assessment will occur every six months for two years in order to document effects over time post-intervention. It will test whether the intervention: 1) increases social support and expands the social network; 2) improves knowledge and attitudes concerning trauma mental health; 3) enhances family processes; 4) increases service utilization. It will also test for factors that affect variation in intervention outcome including type and severity of psychiatric symptoms, types of traumatic experiences, length of time in the U.S., and intervention sessions attended. Results will contribute to an increased understanding of families' role in recovery and service usage, and in the use of a multi-family group modality as a prevention intervention in Bosnians and in other groups of torture survivors.